Ford 7.3 Powerstroke Engine Cover-used on 2040-parts.com

Mini Yours: 'When personalization becomes art'

The Mini, in both British Leyland and BMW formats, has always been famous for its limitless personalization options. From fluffy dice around the mirror to Union Jack roofs and beyond, there is no route that hasn't been explored with the cheeky city car. BMW embraced this idea when it reinvented the Mini back in 200X.

BMW 7-series facelift (2012) first pictures

BMW has given the 7-series the mildest of mid-life facelifts for 2012 – with a series of cosmetic tidy-ups, fettled engines, extra kit and the UK's first hybrid 7-series. The ActiveHybrid7 isn't the most expensive 7-series (that's the 760Li at £101,805), but at £66,040 the petrol-electric saloon is some £8k pricier than the biggest-selling 730d. As the diesel is also cleaner and more economical, we suspect the hybrid Seven will remain a niche seller over here.

One Lap of the Web: the Kitzb

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Older Aston Martins can now be enjoyed by the public, as the automaker has opened their Heritage Showroom in England for all to see.